Word: desultory

adjective:
1. Marked by absence of a plan; disconnected; jumping from one thing to another.
2. Digressing from the main subject; random.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin desultorius (leaping, pertaining to a circus rider who jumps from one horse to another), from desilire (to leap down), from salire (to jump). Other words derived from the same Latin root, salire, are sally, somersault, insult, result, saute, salient, and saltant. Earliest documented use: 1581.

USAGE:

“Anyway, here we are with our little burgers and cokes, making the sort of desultory conversation that those who have been married 30 years make — when this newly married couple walk in.”
Bikram Vohra; Love is the Last Bite; Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates); Apr 16, 2011.